Golf bag

ABSTRACT

This invention concerns a sports bag such as a golf bag equipped with an organizer insert. In another aspect the invention concerns an organizer insert for a sports bag such as a golf bag. The invention involves an apertured plate, with each aperture being sized and shaped to comfortably receive, for example, a golf club handle. Side walls extend below the plate to define a single compartment beneath each aperture. A spacer is associated with the side walls to keep them in fixed relationship with each other as they extend downwards. A retainer is associated with each compartment to grip a golf club handle and resist its removal from the bag. Golf club handles may be dropped or pushed into the bag through the apertures in the plate. They are gripped by the retainers and are kept relatively still inside their respective compartments. In this way the clubs will be retained in fixed relative locations within the bag, and will be unlikely to fall out of the bag during normal handling. The clubs may be easily removed by gentle upwards pressure applied to the club heads.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention concerns a sports bag such as a golf bag equipped with anorganiser insert. In another aspect the invention concerns an organiserinsert for a sports bag such as a golf bag.

1. Background Art

A generally tubular golf bag having an open top to receive golf clubs iswell known. The golf clubs are usually dropped into the bag handle firstand stand up in the bag with the golf club heads protruding above it.The bags are usually dressed with side pockets to receive golf balls,tees and scoring cards, and they may be carried or wheeled around a golfcourse.

2. Disclosure of the Invention

In a first aspect, the invention is a sports bag further comprising:

An apertured plate inside the bag near its top, with each aperture beingsized and shaped to comfortably receive, for example, a golf clubhandle. Side walls extend below the plate into the bag to define asingle compartment beneath each aperture. Spacer means are associatedwith the side walls to keep them in fixed relationship with each otheras they extend down into the bag. A retainer is associated with eachcompartment to grip a golf club handle and resist its removal from thebag.

Golf club handles may be dropped or pushed into the bag through theapertures in the plate. They are gripped by the retainers and are keptrelatively still inside their respective compartments. In this way theclubs will be retained in fixed relative locations within the bag, andwill be unlikely to fall out of the bag during normal handling. Theclubs may be easily removed by gentle upward pressure applied to theclub heads.

The bag itself may comprise a fairly rigid plastics cylinder closed atthe bottom and open at the top. The cylinder may be dressed on theoutside with webbing material, or the like, and be provided withpockets, straps and handles as required. A soft material may be providedaround the opening of the bag at the top, and the apertured plate may besecured inside the bag near it. The apertured plate may have acircumferential upstanding wall in order to assist in securing it to thebag. The plate itself need not be flat but could be tiered or arrangedon a tilt

The apertures will generally be arranged in a regular pattern across theplate. They may have a reinforced rim to help prevent wear and damageduring rough use. They will typically be sized and shaped to receiveonly a single golf club handle.

The side walls may comprise sleeves extending below each aperture. Thesleeves may be made from tubes of a relatively rigid plastics materialopen at both ends, and the sleeves may extend into sockets associatedwith the underside of the plate at each aperture.

The spacer may comprise a plastics disk having holes through it, and theholes may be arranged in the same pattern as the apertures in the plate.The spacer may be arranged in registration with the plate and thesleeves may extend down from their respective apertures troughrespective holes in the spacer. The spacer may be arranged to grip thesleeves, or may be fixed to each sleeve by, for instance, adhesive.

One or more retainers may be associated with each compartment, andadvantageously a retainer is associated with the upper and lower ends ofeach compartment. Where the compartments are defined by tubes, theretainers may conveniently comprise a ring of polymer material pushed onto the end of the tube, and having radially inwardly directedresiliently deformable members. The inwardly deformable members wouldgenerally extend towards to the axis of the tube but leave a smallopening, slightly smaller than the diameter of the golf club handle thatwill be engaged. Entry of the golf club handle will cause the members tobe pressed downwards and spread apart from each other. Greaterresistance is provided against withdrawal of the club by the need topull the members back up while the handle is still in the opening. Sincegolf club handles are generally wider at their top end than their lowerends, the retainers at the bottom end of each compartment may have anopening of greater diameter than the retainers at the top.

In another aspect the invention concerns an organiser insert for a golfbag as defined above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An example of the invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of a golf bag organiser insert embodying theinvention; and

FIG. 2 is a section through a golf bag containing the insert of FIG 1.

The same reference numerals have been used to refer to correspondingelements in both figures.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, the generally tubular outer case of golf bag 1 isshown in ghost outline 2. The insert is indicated generally at 3, andcomprises an apertured plate 4. Sleeves indicated generally at 5 extendbeneath the plate 4. A spacer 6 maintains the sleeves in generallyparallel configuration. And retainers 7 and 8 are located at the upperand lower ends of each sleeve respectively.

The case 2 comprises a rigid plastics cylinder 9 closed at the bottomand open at the top. The cylinder 9 is dressed on the outside withfabric 10 that extends around the opening of the bag at the top.

The apertured plate 4 has a circumferential upstanding wall 11 that issecured to the case 2 by means of screws 12. The plate 4 is tiered. Theapertures 13 in plate 4 are arranged in a regular pattern across theplate. They are sized and shaped to receive only a single golf clubhandle.

The sleeves 5 are relatively rigid plastics tubes open at both ends, andthe sleeves extend into sockets 14 associated with the underside of theplate 4 at each aperture 13.

The spacer 6 comprises a plastics disk having holes 15 through it, andthe holes 15 are arranged in the same pattern as the apertures 13 in theplate 4. The spacer 6 is arranged in registration with the plate 4 andthe sleeves 5 extend parallel to each other down from their respectiveapertures 13 through respective holes 15 in the spacer 6. The holes 15in the spacer 6 are tight fitting and grip the sleeves.

Retainers 7 are associated with the upper end of each sleeve, andretainers 8 are associated with the lower ends of each sleeve. Theretainers 7 and 8 are pushed on to the upper and lower ends of thesleeves respectively. The retainers comprise a ring of polymer material16 having radially inwardly directed resiliently deformable members 17.The inwardly deformable members 17 extend towards to the axis of thesleeve but leave a small opening 18, slightly smaller than the diameterof the golf club handle that it will engage.

Entry of a golf club handle 19 through an aperture 13 in the plate 4causes members 17 of the upper retainer 7 to be pressed downwards andspread apart from each other. The club handle is then pushed or droppedinto the bag, and the top of the handle passes through the lowerretainer 8 to rest on the floor 20 of the bag. Since golf club handlesare generally wider at their top ends than their lower ends, theretainers 8 at the bottom end of each compartment may have an opening 18of greater diameter than the retainers 7 at the top. The members 17 ofthe retainers press against the handle 19 and center it within thesleeve so that it does not rub against the tube. Since the sleeves aremaintained straight and parallel by the plate 4 and the spacer 6, theclubs remain straight within the bag.

Greater resistance is provided against withdrawal of the club by thefriction between the members 17 and the handle, which gives rise to theneed to pull the members 17 back up while the handle remains in theopening before the handle can be released by the retainers

Although the invention has been described with reference to a particularembodiment, it should be appreciated that it may be configured in manyother forms. For instance, sleeves of rigid plastics material are notnecessary in order to divide the interior of the bag into separatecompartments. Also, the spacer may be integrated into the side walls,for instance, in the form of interengaging formations, rather thanprovided as a separate element. The retainers may be made of rubber orany other suitable materials such as elastomeric material with highmemory and good resistance to ultraviolet degradation. Alternatively,retainers of completely different form may be employed. The inventionmay also be applied to other types of sports bags, such as bags fortennis rackets.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerousvariations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown inthe specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are,therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sports bag having an entry and comprising: anapertured plate inside the bag near the entry, the plate having pluralapertures with each aperture being sized and shaped to receive a handleof a sports implement; side walls extending beneath the plate into thebag to define a single compartment beneath each aperture; at least onespacer associated with the side walls to keep the side walls in fixedrelationship with each other as the side walls extend down into the bag;and a similar retainer located at each of the upper and lower ends ofeach compartment and adapted to grip a handle, to keep the grippedhandle away from the side walls defining said compartment, and to resistremoval of the gripped handle from the bag, each retainer being adaptedto allow the handle to pass downwardly through said retainer.
 2. Asports bag according to claim 1, wherein the side walls comprise sleevesextending below each aperture.
 3. A sports bag according to claim 2,wherein the sleeves comprise tubes open at both ends.
 4. A sports bagaccording to claim 1, wherein the apertures in the plate are arranged ina pattern, the spacer means comprises a plastics disk having holes, andthe holes are arranged in the same pattern as the apertures in theplate.
 5. A sports bag according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, or 4,wherein the retainer located at each of the upper and lower ends of eachcompartment is adapted to grip a handle automatically when the handle isinserted into said compartment.
 6. A sports bag according to claim 5,wherein the retainer located at each of the upper and lower ends of eachcompartment is adapted to center a handle within said compartment whenthe handle is inserted into said compartment.
 7. A sports bag having anentry and comprising: an apertured plate inside the bag near the entry,the plate having plural apertures with each aperture being sized andshaped to receive a handle of a sports implement; side walls extendingbeneath the plate into the bag to define a single compartment beneatheach aperture; spacer means associated with the side walls to keep theside walls in fixed relationship with each other as the side wallsextend down into the bag; and a similar retainer located at each of theupper and lower ends of each compartment and adapted to grip a handle,to keep the gripped handle away from the side walls defining saidcompartment, and to resist removal of the gripped handle from the bag,each retainer being adapted to allow the handle to pass downwardlythrough said retainer.
 8. A sports bag organizer insert according toclaim 7 wherein the retainer located at each of the upper and lower endsof each compartment is adapted to grip a handle automatically when thehandle is inserted into said compartment.
 9. A sports bag organizerinsert according to claim 8, wherein the retainer located at each of theupper and lower ends of each compartment is adapted to center a handlewithin said compartment when the handle is inserted into saidcompartment.